A/N: Here's the second one-shot of this four-part series. A bit of a shorter one this time.I hope you enjoy, I certainly had a lot of fun writing it:D I don't own Animorphs. Read on…
Borders of Heaven and Hell
"Stormings"
"Hate is like a storm: The simple clouds evolving into rain, then the eruption of thunder and finally the flash of burning lightning. The storm of emotions, which eventually, inevitably, settles again." – Anonymous.
Alloran-Semitur-Corass
If it was the last thing I ever did in my lifetime, I would make sure this filthy slug of a sentient creature got out of my mind.
I had been infested by Visser Three what seems now like eternity past. Besides my awful luck as a powerful Andalite warrior, believed by all to be immune to the Yeerks' power of control, it had been a sunny day. It happened on the Taxxon home world, and I had been on a mission to bring two human children back to the planet where they had been spawned: Planet Earth. Under my charge were two Andalite arishts, Elfangor and Arbron were their names. They, unlike me, were able to escape the Yeerks, body and mind in one piece, or at least for a limited time…
But that… is a completely different story.
I've always hated my life since then. Stuck inside my own mind with nothing to occupy me but my thoughts. My memories (which both, coincidentally, the Visser could read like a book). I was left there to long and yearn for a simple dwindle of hope. Missing my wife. My children. My life.
Hope is a strong word, Alloran. Just pray you do not use it in vain…
My life has really been a black hole, since my infestation. I suppose that, above all other things, it was a reality check. Not only to me, but to our entire species. It showed us to watched our arrogance. It showed us that, despite our power and wonder, even we are not invincible.
No one, and nothing, is.
In fact, the only thing I have to occupy me and put a little spark into my gloomy days is, well, the Visser himself. We normally talk about lots of things. Sometimes we can even go up to two sentences without yelling at each other. They are never pleasant conversations, but conversations all the same. I hate the Visser with all my soul. And he despises me equally.
… But if there's one person Visser Three hates even more than me, that person is Visser One.
Or in other words, one of the most fascinating creatures in existance.
Visser One is truly fascinating. Through Visser Three I've learned to know her. Though I hate her almost as much as the Visser, she is amazing to listen to. Her mind works in such a way that she can think of just about any possibility, any idea, anything she may need to think of. She analyses situations thoroughly, flawlessly. Which makes her, in many ways, the perfect military commander. An intelligent, brilliant creature, to say the least. Even I, an Andalite, must admit that.
And her intelligence also makes her quick in arguments. Oh, poor Visser Three.
Visser One definitely does not realize the amount of power she has over Visser Three. She can provoke him like no one else can, tip him over the edge of anger and make him lose his cool. She knows exactly what will get to him, and never fails to use it to her advantage. She alone never fears him, like so many creatures do. On the contrary: She sometimes makes him fear. A talent I would die to possess.
Nevertheless, though she knows him better than he knows himself, he knows her just as well. He knows every secret, every move, he knows what her every facial expression means. He knows how to hurt her and he isn't afraid to. I would even go as far as saying he may be a bit obsessed. They got into screaming, raging fights almost every day (and my poor body gets the nail marks). But they had one very important thing in common: They were, as the humans say, "stuck in the same boat".
That took away most of their repulse at seeing each other (they had to endure each other literally every day). But it didn't take away any of their hate.
And most likely, it never would.
As an Andalite, being infested by a Yeerk Visser was by far the worst thing that could ever have happened to me. But it also allowed me to get a different perspective into the life of a species that all Andalites are taught to despise. And, although I hate to admit it, it gave me a lot of company that I wouldn't have otherwise…
Sometimes, on hateful terms of course, I speak to Visser One while my Yeerk is feeding in the shipboard private Vissers' pool on the mother ship. It is interesting, to say the least. She has different viewpoints on the war than Visser Three does (But of course she does. That's one of the reasons they're worst enemies!). Most of the time, hers make more sense than Visser Three's, as well. For good reason. She is calculating. Visser Three is a raving, bloodthirsty maniac, lingering on every hope of all-out war on planet Earth.
In any case, conversations are always interesting. And informative… In fact, the last conversation I had with the Visser went a little like this…
---
I was in a cage.
It was a few days ago, during the last feeding cycle. And I was in a cage, held mercilessly, hopelessly, until Visser Three was finished feeding. Can you even begin to conceive how horrible that is? When your only moments of freedom are spent in a place where you can not even feel it? Where you can't smile, or laugh, or run along fields of tasty grass… I wished so much to be back on the Andalite home world, with Jahar and my two beautful children whom I missed so much. But I knew that wouldn't happen. All I had right now was the smooth metal of the cage.
And for company, a human-Controller named Visser One.
She was sitting on the single bench, which was located only a few feet from my cage. She relaxed a bit. She had finished feeding and was staying a while to get away from her busy life.
( So, Visser One, ) I said arrogantly, tentatively. She cast me a blazing glare. In me, she saw not the Andalite but the mean, hard soul whom she hated more than anything in the world. But he was gone now. And it was only me.
" How dare you disturb me, Andalite filth?" she snapped.
( I was hoping to ask a simple question, ) I replied coldly.
She looked at me, for a moment still and wondering. Then, like the curious being she was, she replied, "Fine. Ask away."
Then, inhaling, I asked the question that had been disturbing my mind for a long time now… ( Why is it that you hate Visser Three so much? He is a fellow Yeerk, after all. So how is it that you can despise him even more than we Andalites, your enemies? )
She thought about that for a long time. Pondering, I suspect. " Well…" she said finally. " He does threaten my post. He wants to be Visser One, and when I became Visser One he became so jealous… He told the Council that he had been the first to discover the humans, when in fact I was the one to go along and find the planet and start the invasion of Earth. I hate him because he hates me, I guess. I hate him because… he's my equal."
She became silent after that, and for the first time, I realized something: Visser One and Visser Three were more alike that I had thought. More alike than probably even they themselves had thought.
"He's my equal"… I knew then what she had meant by that. She hated him because they were alike. He was a lot like her, despite the differences, and she didn't like that. Maybe it really was because that threatened her rank…
Or maybe… Maybe it was because she looked at him and saw herself deep in his eyes. And didn't like the way she had turned out.
Can't say I blamed her. I often hate the way I turned out, too. It isn't easy to love yourself when you are your biggest critic.
And it's even harder to love others when you can't find a way to appreciate what's inside you.
She hated him because he resembled her.
But was that really her final answer?
--
Now, today, once again under the control of Visser Three, I paused and reflected about what she'd told me. I knew Visser Three could see it too, as he could see all my memories. But I didn't care. And, surprisingly enough, only now did he bring it up.
( That dapsen sure does hate me, ) he chuckled after yet another heated argument with his worst enemy.
( Yes, ) I said. ( She does. )
( Why do you talk to her, anyway? ) he asked coldly.
I considered that for a moment. ( Because she sees things that you don't. It's good to have multiple viewpoints. )
I guess he was satisfied with that answer, since he was silent for a few moments more.
( What did she mean by… "He's my equal"? ) Once again he broke the long silence, as if he couldn't read my thoughts already.
I simply laughed interiorly. ( You two are more alike than you think, Esplin… )
And I left it at that, as he lay my body down on the bed in his chambers, and closed his eyes, drifting into sleep.
His dreams swept into my mind… Dreams of fights, arguments, yelling and hurting. Their lives were a real storm, I thought. And even at night, her face haunted his conscience… A real, passionate hate. One that no one besides them could know and understand.
She'd told me that she hated him because he threatened her rank. Because he'd lied to sabotage her. And most of all, because he resembled her.
But I'd seen the confused, preoccupied look in her eyes when she'd finished speaking.
And I realized that in some parts, not even she knew the answer to my question.
So, there's my second one-shot! I really enjoyed writing this one. :) It was a lot of fun, and I hope you guys enjoyed!
Please review!
